Waterton Residential has sold the District West Gables apartment complex in West Miami for $111 million, a price representing a 4.7 percent decrease from what it paid nearly ten years ago. The buyer is Federal Capital Partners (FCP), based in Chevy Chase, Maryland, according to public records and data from Vizzda.
The property consists of two seven-story buildings located at 2001 and 2101 Ludlam Road/Southwest 67th Avenue, totaling 427 units. This sale equates to approximately $259,953 per unit.
Waterton, headquartered in Chicago and led by CEO David Schwartz, acquired the complex through two transactions: purchasing the 206-unit building at 2101 Ludlam Road for $57.4 million in 2016 after its completion by Estate Companies, and acquiring the second building at 2001 Ludlam Road for $59 million in 2017 after its completion that year. Estate Companies, managed by Robert Suris and Jeff Ardizon under the Soleste brand, developed both buildings.
District West Gables sits on a 4.1-acre site and offers studios as well as one- to three-bedroom apartments. Current asking rents are not publicly listed.
This acquisition marks FCP’s third investment in South Florida multifamily properties within a year. In December last year, FCP bought the Solena Miramar complex in Miramar for $67.5 million; earlier this year it purchased Arium Sunrise in Sunrise for $90 million.
FCP is led by CEO Garland Faist and has invested or financed more than $14.6 billion in residential and commercial real estate across the United States since its founding in 1999. The company currently manages six funds with assets totaling $4.2 billion.
According to FCP’s news release about the transaction, renovations are planned for common areas, amenities, and apartments at District West Gables. Greystar has been appointed as property manager. Records indicate that no mortgage was recorded with this purchase, suggesting an all-cash deal.
The sale comes during a period of reduced activity in South Florida’s multifamily market compared to the pandemic era boom. Over the past two years, factors such as higher interest rates and increased supply have slowed sales activity and stabilized or decreased rental prices. Last year saw developers complete a record number of new apartments—18,600 units—while only about 15,000 net leases were signed (https://www.costar.com/).
Despite these conditions, there has been some recent increase in sales volume as buyers employ strategies like all-cash purchases or using agency loans from Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae instead of traditional bank financing.
In June this year, Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega paid $165 million cash for Veneto Las Olas—a 44-story tower with 259 units—in Fort Lauderdale (https://www.therealdeal.com/miami/2024/06/12/amancio-ortega-buys-las-olas-apartment-tower-for-165m-in-all-cash-deal/). Last month Related Fund Management secured a Freddie Mac loan for its $116.9 million acquisition of Aura Delray Beach (292 units) (https://www.therealdeal.com/miami/2024/07/10/freddie-mac-loan-funds-relateds-117m-delray-beach-multifamily-buy/) while The Milestone Group assumed an existing loan plus additional financing when buying Casa Brera at Toscana Isles near Boynton Beach (https://www.therealdeal.com/miami/2024/07/08/milestone-group-pays-46m-for-palm-beach-county-apartments-assumes-sellers-loan/).
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